Influential Filmmaker Launches National Mentorship Initiative to Address Industry’s Diversity Gap
LOS ANGELES, November 25, 2025 — ARRAY Creative Alliance, the independent film distribution and resource collective founded by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Ava DuVernay, announced today the launch of the ARRAY Next Wave Directors Fellowship, a comprehensive mentorship program designed to equip 10 emerging directors from marginalized communities with the tools, funding, and industry access needed to develop and produce their first feature films.
The initiative arrives as new data reveals persistent structural inequities in Hollywood’s directing landscape. According to the 2025 UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report, no women or nonbinary directors were hired to helm streaming films with budgets of $100 million or more in 2024, while 65.5 percent of all streaming releases operated on budgets under $20 million. The report, which analyzed the top 100 English-language streaming films, further found that directors of color accounted for only four out of 10 directors in streaming content, despite diverse casts driving higher audience engagement. “The gap between movie budgets for streaming and theatrical releases gets wider, and it’s especially troubling since only a select few, specifically men, are given the chance to dip into the upper echelons of financial backing,” said Michael Tran, co-author of the study. Full findings are available at.
The fellowship directly confronts these disparities by providing each selected director with a $50,000 unrestricted production grant, six months of one-on-one mentorship with established filmmakers, and masterclasses covering financing, distribution, and on-set leadership. Mentees will be paired with advisors based on creative alignment and career trajectory, following a model similar to the Directors Guild’s Director Development Initiative, which has graduated hundreds of members since 2016. In addition to craft development, participants will receive guaranteed pitch meetings with ARRAY’s distribution partners and streaming platform executives, addressing the access barriers that prevent talented filmmakers from advancing.
Applications open January 15, 2026, targeting directors who have completed at least one short film but have not yet directed a feature. Priority will be given to filmmakers from Black, Indigenous, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, LGBTQ+, and disabled communities, as well as those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Candidates must submit a project proposal, work samples, and a personal statement outlining their artistic vision and career objectives. The selection committee includes ARRAY’s leadership team and alumni from previous mentorship cohorts.
“Talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not,” said ARRAY Chief Impact Officer Carmen M. Rodriguez. “This fellowship builds the infrastructure that our industry has long lacked—direct financial support, sustained mentorship, and real access to decision-makers. We’re not just opening doors; we’re helping emerging directors build their own houses.” Rodriguez emphasized that the program’s structure was informed by research showing that 37 percent of filmmakers from underrepresented groups credit mentorship as the critical factor in their career advancement, according to a 2025 ZipDo industry analysis.
The fellowship culminates in a showcase at the 2027 ARRAY Film Series, where completed projects will be presented to acquisition executives, Influential Filmmaker Announces Mentorship Program for Emerging Directors agents, and festival programmers. The initiative is funded through a partnership with the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and Netflix’s Fund for Creative Equity, reflecting a broader industry push toward sustainable pipeline programs. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the motion picture industry employed 398,900 workers as of September 2025, yet only 8.4 percent of those positions were held by union members from underrepresented groups, underscoring the need for systemic intervention.
About ARRAY Creative Alliance
ARRAY Creative Alliance is an independent film collective founded in 2010 by filmmaker Ava DuVernay. The organization focuses on amplifying the work of women and people of color through film distribution, production, and advocacy. ARRAY has distributed more than 30 feature films and series, including award-winning projects from emerging and established directors. Its mentorship initiatives have supported over 150 filmmakers, with alumni securing deals at major studios and premiering work at the Sundance, Cannes, and Toronto International Film Festivals.
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